Crusaders vs Sharks - A gulf in class

Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 29 March 2011 - 17:08
Author: Sam Rider
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Last Sunday afternoon 35,094 fans at Twickenham Stadium were treated to a rare and privileged site of witnessing a southern hemisphere Super Rugby clash between the New Zealand Crusaders and the South African Sharks.

It was a relocated home match for the Kiwis of Christchurch who have taken on a nomadic existence since their AMI Stadium was damaged in the devastating earthquake of February 22. The occasion not only raised over £175,000 for the Red Cross to aid the people of Christchurch but also raised the bar in terms of playing open, free-flowing, ball-in-hand rugby northern hemisphere sides can only dream of.

The Crusaders and Sharks, perhaps enchanted by the unique nature of the occasion, embarked on every passage of play with attacking verve and unbelievable skill. Dynamic running lines carved through each defence with mesmeric offloads from forwards and backs finding their support runner to joyous effect.

A deserved result

The end-to-end affair did not relent until the final whistle was blown and nine tries had been racked up in a 44-28 victory for the Crusaders. It was a deserved result for their coach Todd Blackadder and appropriate win in the circumstances, especially given the club had lost one of their own – Crusaders Board member Philip McDonald had died in the quake.

After the dust settled on Sunday afternoon’s mesmeric occasion thoughts turned to how the northern hemisphere outfits would digest this exalted quality of rugby. There has been a notable trend for teams in the autumn internationals and Six Nations championship to attack and keep the ball in hand – and the rules of the game have been tinkered accordingly to encourage this.

There were players from every one of the six nations who demonstrated individual brilliance – think of Chris Ashton’s four tries in one match, Francois Trinh-Duc’s through the legs pass, James Hook’s playmaker role at No10 – but as a whole from Italy to England the teams failed to live up to the standards set by the Kiwis, Wallabies and Springboks.

The Jonah Lomu of 2011

One player who shone like a beacon throughout the Twickenham match was the eccentric, multi-talented Sonny Bill Williams. The Kiwi centre for the Crusaders is making only his fifth appearance in Super Rugby since switching codes from League to Union in 2008. The 25-year-old has exploded onto the scene cementing his place in the All Blacks midfield and will undoubtedly be central to every moment of magic witnessed by star struck fans at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand later this year.

He will be the Jonah Lomu of this championship dominating headlines and opposition defences just as the towering wing did in 1995. With his ability to engage the contact, protect the ball, stretch out his go-go-gadget arms and pop it up for a supporting team-mate he unlocked the opposition time and again. With scything tackles and flanker-like burrowing at the breakdown he did everything but score with the likes of man-of-the-match Dan Carter, Israel Dagg and Sean Maitland all try-scoring beneficiaries of his bravado.

The gulf in England’s midfield

When compared to the one-dimensional options deployed by Martin Johnson in England’s midfield, that of Shontayne Hape and Mike Tindall, the gulf in attacking quality at England’s disposal is as wide as the Indian Ocean itself.

New Zealand born Riki Flutey of Wasps offers subtle hands and deft footwork in that position but is despairingly short of match fitness after injuries. Likewise Bath’s Olly Barkley was overlooked but facing a lengthy spell out regardless. The World Cup appears to have come too soon for Leicester’s Manu Tuilagi. At just 19-years-old he has been championed as the explosive, gain line-breaking ingredient England is missing but Jonno’s reluctance to chance his arm in the Six Nations negates his selection come September.

Only Bath’s Matt Banahan was chosen to offer Hape and Tindall competition but his game is too similar and was exposed against the nous and experience of Ireland’s midfield duo.

A daunting prospect

It is an area of England’s game they will have to find an answer to if they hope to progress further than their likely quarter-final showdown with either New Zealand or France, let alone in their Pool B tussle with Argentina.

As things stand the three southern hemisphere heavyweights will have seen little to fear come crunch time in New Zealand. In contrast Sunday afternoon’s occasion gave northern hemisphere fans a potent taste of what is to come when the Williams-Carter partnership is unleashed at Auckland’s Eden Park.

With Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino, Ma’a Nonu, Hosea Gear and Mils Muliaina added to the equation it will be a joy to behold for the rugby purist; but for Martin Johnson and co. it will be a daunting prospect indeed.